Even free market is a recent obsession. Societies historical had all kinds of protections, tariffs, and other measures (heck, not just Italian city states or Rome, the US itself had heavy tariffs, subsidies and such for most of its existence, until they established their economic and diplomatic dominance, and only then pretended like its all about the free market).

That's on top of the cultural, religious, civic and other restrictions on trade in the past.